T.S. Eliot left America for England during his lifetime
Modernism (early 20th century)
· People were disillusioned after WWI
o Saw horrible things
§ Mass destruction
· Fitzgerald, Stein, Hemingway
· The Lost Generation
o Because so many died in WWI; 7 million people worldwide
o People lost their youth fighting a war
o Returning soldiers felt disconnected/alienated; like they had lost their purpose/meaning
§ Roaring ‘20s
§ Materialism, Consumerism, Capitalism
o Loss of patriotism
o Loss of faith in the nation/government
o Loss of faith in humanity
o Loss of faith in religion
o Became cynical
o Master narratives/faith in progress disproven
· People in factories feel alienated from the richer people
o Assembly line
· Mobility, travel
· Technological advancements
· Urbanization
· Mass Communication
o More impersonal, loss of individuality
How Modernism manifests in art
· Stream of consciousness
o Experimental, “Make it New!”
· All about disrupting conventions
· Less vivid
· Suggestive, understated
· Fragmented
· Fatalistic
o Naturalism
The Hollow Men
· Uses illusions to pack a lot of meaning in to a small space
· Readers who do not understand the illusions may feel alienated/disoriented
· Paradox between odd, new style of poetry and old references
· The form of the poem models the meaning
· Hollow mentally but stuffed with objects/materialism
· Suggests going against conventions
· Always make a decision one way or the other, don’t be “stuck in Purgatory”
o Marlow (HoD) avoid confrontation and lies even when he has the opportunity to tell the truth
· Last lines say that if humanity continues down this path then it will end with a “whimper”
· Urban life leads to bystander effect
o Avoid speech and eye contact
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